Researchers seek paddlefish details

Thursday

Feb 28, 2008 at 12:01 AMFeb 28, 2008 at 1:15 AM

Biologists have started a pilot program to study an ancient fish species in Oklahoma's Grand Lake of the Cherokees, and the byproducts of their research will end up as fuel oil from a Carthage plant, and possibly a new generation of the fish from the Neosho fish hatchery.

John Hacker

Biologists have started a pilot program to study an ancient fish species in Oklahoma's Grand Lake of the Cherokees, and the byproducts of their research will end up as fuel oil from a Carthage plant, and possibly a new generation of the fish from the Neosho fish hatchery.

Some of the byproducts will also end up as a prized delicacy on hors de' oeuvre plates around the world.

The fish is the paddlefish, also known as the spoonbill.

Biologists Brent Gordon and Keith Green have started the Paddlefish Research and Processing Center at Twin Bridges State Park in Ottawa County, Okla., to help sport fishermen at Grand Lake by processing and filleting their catch. As a bonus, Gordon and Green will get to collect information about each fish they process and collect the eggs for sale to support their project.

Some of the eggs will also end up at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Department's Neosho Fish Hatchery, which spawns and stocks the fish across the middle of the U.S.
The processing center is still under construction, but it opened for business on Saturday.

Most of the eggs will be sold to make caviar. The proceeds from the sale will go to pay for the research project.

Gordon said right now, the eggs, along with more than 50 percent of the fish, are thrown away because Oklahoma state law prohibits taking whole paddlefish outside the state.

"The eggs are a byproduct that's being thrown away right now," Green said. "It's illegal to take any of this out of Oklahoma. The fish has to be gutted before it can cross the state line, so it's currently a wasted resource. We're not advocating catching anymore fish, there's enough fish caught every year to sustain our program."

Gordon said the paddlefish can grow to well over 100 pounds and more than five feet in length. It's distinguished by the long paddle or spoon, made of cartilage that extends from the top of the fish's head.

The fish's natural range is the Mississippi, Missouri, Arkansas and other large North American Rivers, but Grand Lake has a large and self-sustaining population of about 65,000 fish.

"Grand Lake has always been a pretty traditional place to catch paddlefish," Gordon said. "Grand Lake probably has one of the best self-sustaining populations left in the U.S. and the Neosho River is one of the best fisheries. There are a lot of reasons for that; one is that the population is just very good. If you compare our catch to like North Dakota or Montana, you're allowed to catch one a year there. Here you're allowed to catch one a day."

The paddlefish from Grand Lake mostly go up the Neosho River to spawn.

Researchers believe paddlefish mature and start reproducing at eight or nine years old, but Green and Gordon say they expect their research to clarify that information.
They also hope to learn more about threats to the paddlefish population; they're eating and reproduction habits and other details about paddlefish life.

Green said other states with paddlefish populations allow commercial harvesting of the fish, but Oklahoma outlawed commercial fishing for paddlefish in 1992.

Green said about 50 percent of a single female paddlefish is unusable waste, about 30 percent is edible meat, and 20 percent is eggs.

He said one challenge he and Gordon faced was what to do with the fish heads, fat and other parts that couldn't be used.

He said in Oklahoma, it's legal for fishermen to dump the remains back in river, but that wasn't feasible for their processing station.

They turned to Renewable Environmental Solutions in Carthage, which said it would take the fish and clean out the tubs the researchers used to carry them.

"They were extremely helpful, they're taking them at no cost," Green said. "It will be a good fish for them because it's a particularly oily and fatty fish."

Green estimated their processing station would produce about 50,000 of fish remains in a season. He said wouldn't be a large amount for RES, which process 200 tons of turkey, chicken and other waste products a day and turns it into fuel oil.